A PIECE of Dorset literary history has gone under the hammer.
A poem written by Sturminster Newton-based writer William Barnes in his famous Dorset Dialect has been sold at auction for £2,800.
The piece of prose entitled Solace of the Field and initialled WB had attracted a lot of interest prior to the sale according to auctioneers Dukes of Dorchester and fetched £300 higher than its estimated price.
An accompanying handwritten letter, also by William Barnes, fetched £1,000 - £400 more than estimated.
Both were dedicated to a "Mrs Hodding with kind compliments" and were thought to be in gratitude for her efforts in seeking subscribers for a new volume of work.
The buyer of both pieces is an avid private collector of William Barnes work and is thought to live in the West Country.
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